Nagasawa had originally planned to walk through the air to the pirate ship, but to his surprise, the pirate ship actually sailed toward them on its own. That made him grin. They were coming to die willingly.
"Admiral Nagasawa, should we open fire?" a Marine asked.
"Let them come," Nagasawa replied with a smile.
Zefa stared at the pirate ship as it drew closer to the warship. The tragic deaths of his students surfaced in his mind once again, and he clenched his fists, ready to act at any moment.
"It's been a long time since I've killed any Marines. They actually dared to lock me up for so long. I'll make you pay."
"Brothers, if there are any female Marines, remember to leave them alive."
Since the warship made no attempt to stop them, the pirate ship quickly came alongside, and the pirates' loud, unrestrained conversation reached Nagasawa's group.
Some of the prisoners who had escaped from Impel Down had been recruited by Buggy, helping him become one of the Seven Warlords. Some were recaptured by the Marines after Blackbeard's death, while the rest simply returned to piracy.
However, with the New World's balance of power now firmly established, it wasn't easy to form a brand-new pirate crew. Most of them joined existing crews, and Bakkin had recruited some of them as well.
These pirates were completely lawless and had no fear of the Marines.
Tashigi rubbed her fists with an annoyed expression, preparing to teach these ignorant pirates a proper lesson.
Suddenly, the pirates fell silent.
They all stepped aside as a gigantic figure walked to the front.
Ordinarily, this kind of scene would introduce an imposing overlord with overwhelming presence.
Instead, the one who appeared was Weevil, with snot hanging from his nose and a vacant, foolish expression.
Even the pirates felt their captain lacked any dignity.
Although they mocked Weevil's idiotic appearance in their hearts, none of them dared to say it aloud, because his strength was simply too terrifying.
They hadn't joined this pirate crew because of Weevil's ridiculous beard.
They had joined because of the monstrous power he had displayed.
He certainly looked like a fool, but his strength had earned their acknowledgment.
"Mother said you're annoying, so I'm going to kill every one of you," Weevil said while sniffing his nose, his blank expression unchanged.
Although his words were threatening, coming from someone who looked like that, none of the Marines felt intimidated.
In fact, they almost wanted to laugh.
Of course, perhaps it wasn't Weevil's foolish appearance that gave them confidence, but the fact that both the current Admiral Nagasawa and former Admiral Zefa were aboard the warship.
Nagasawa walked to the front of the deck, with Zefa, Tashigi, Ain, and Binz following behind him.
"Whitebeard Jr.? You even gave yourself the name Edward Weevil. But you don't resemble Whitebeard at all. You're probably an artificial human created by Bakkin using Lineage Factors," Nagasawa said with a smile.
The flesh-covered face of Weevil instantly twisted with rage.
He sucked his snot back in and snarled,
"Don't spout nonsense! I look exactly like Old Man Whitebeard!"
"Exactly alike? I'd advise you not to say that in front of the Whitebeard Pirates. It could be dangerous," Nagasawa nearly burst out laughing.
"Damn you! I'll kill you!"
Weevil wore the expression of an angry child as he prepared to split Nagasawa in half with a single leaping slash.
At that moment, one pirate who had recently read the newspaper suddenly found Nagasawa's face familiar.
He compared it with one of the three faces printed in the newspaper, then his expression immediately turned to horror.
"An... Admiral! Why are we running into an Admiral?"
The pirate was completely dumbfounded.
If the Four Emperors inspired the greatest fear among pirates, then on the Marine side, the figures pirates feared most were the Marine Headquarters Admirals.
Even though they were seasoned New World pirates who had committed countless crimes, they still panicked upon encountering an Admiral.
These were the Marines' greatest military forces.
Ordinary Marines didn't scare them.
An Admiral was another matter entirely.
"Where's the Admiral?"
The other pirates were also alarmed and hurriedly asked.
"That man standing at the front of the warship is one of the Marines' three new Admirals—Admiral White Horse!" the pirate said while trembling as he pointed at Nagasawa.
But by then, it was already too late to turn around and flee.
Their captain, Weevil, had already rushed toward Nagasawa with his massive blade.
The edge of the sword was coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, and Weevil's face became savage.
The black blade tore through the air, and the force of the swing sent waves soaring more than ten meters high.
The terrifying aura Weevil released in that instant caused every Marine except Nagasawa to become vigilant.
Although he looked foolish, Weevil truly was powerful.
Otherwise, he would never have severely injured Zefa years ago and slaughtered all of Zefa's students.
Unfortunately for him...
His opponent was Nagasawa.
Someone capable of reaching Six Paths level when fighting at full strength.
Nagasawa's right hand became coated in black Armament Haki before he casually caught Weevil's enormous blade with one hand.
"Raaah!"
Weevil gritted his teeth and widened his eyes.
He ignored the snot running down his face as he poured all of his strength into trying to split Nagasawa apart.
But no matter how hard he tried...
His sword couldn't move forward another single millimeter.
A nearly seven-meter-tall giant holding a massive blade was being stopped by a man only 1.8 meters tall using just one hand.
The sight was unbelievably surreal.
"Admiral Nagasawa!"
The Marines aboard the warship immediately erupted into cheers after seeing Nagasawa suppress Weevil so effortlessly.
Even Tashigi had to admit that although Nagasawa often slacked off at work and usually behaved carelessly, he truly deserved the title of Admiral.
His strength was simply monstrous.
From Tashigi's perspective, if she had been the one facing that slash...
She would have died.
Yet Nagasawa had caught it with one hand.
His strength was unfathomable.
Until now, Ain's impression of Nagasawa had simply been that he was an easygoing superior.
But after seeing him effortlessly catch Weevil's blade, she finally gained some understanding of his strength.
After all, Weevil had once severely wounded her teacher Zefa, who had also been an Admiral.
Even Zefa looked at Nagasawa with astonishment.
He was deeply shaken by Nagasawa's overwhelming strength.
Having once fought Weevil in a life-or-death battle, Zefa understood better than anyone just how terrifying this man's physical power was.
Originally, Zefa had planned to fight alongside Nagasawa to ensure Weevil's swift defeat.
Now it was obvious that wouldn't be necessary.
Nagasawa's strength far exceeded his expectations.
Looking at the red-faced Weevil struggling desperately, Nagasawa smiled.
He loved the world of One Piece.
Who in the Naruto world would dare compete with him in raw strength?
Here, almost every pirate was willing to try.
With numerous templates empowering him, combined with the immense physical enhancement granted by the Breathing Style, Nagasawa had yet to encounter anyone who could rival him in pure strength.
Nagasawa clenched his left fist.
Pitch-black Armament Haki covered it.
Then Chakra erupted from his body as he drove a devastating punch straight into Weevil's abdomen.
Pfft!
Weevil vomited a mouthful of bright red blood.
The overwhelming force exploded throughout his body, inflicting catastrophic internal injuries.
His enormous body shot backward like a cannonball before crashing into the pirate ship, smashing a huge crater into its deck.
The pirates aboard immediately tried to sail away.
But it wasn't that simple.
Nagasawa and Zefa leaped directly onto the pirate ship, defeating the surrounding pirates in only a few moves.
"Do you know what you're doing? Are the Marines trying to start a war with the Beasts Pirates?" Bakkin shouted furiously after seeing her greatest Lineage Factor experiment covered in blood.
Although the Marines had already reached her doorstep, Bakkin had once been a member of the Rocks Pirates and had seen countless storms.
She wasn't overly flustered.
"The Beasts Pirates? What's your relationship with Kaido?" Nagasawa asked curiously.
According to the original story, Bakkin had never sought out Kaido.
She had always wandered around with her foolish son, eventually becoming one of the Seven Warlords through Weevil's overwhelming strength.
"Heh. I'm one of Kaido's most important allies now. If you arrest us, Kaido will definitely declare war on the Marines," Bakkin sneered.
Since Whitebeard hadn't died during the Summit War, Bakkin naturally couldn't send Weevil to seize the Whitebeard Pirates' treasure.
That would have been suicide.
But because Whitebeard survived, the conflict between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beasts Pirates had erupted.
So Bakkin eventually approached Kaido and proposed that they work together to kill Whitebeard before supporting Weevil as the new Emperor of the Sea.
As former members of the Rocks Pirates, they knew each other.
The negotiations hadn't gone smoothly, because Kaido wasn't someone who could be judged by common sense.
In the end, however, the enormous benefits convinced Kaido to agree.
Bakkin's words caused both Tashigi and Zefa to hesitate.
Tashigi was intelligent and rational.
She understood the consequences such an action could trigger.
Although Sakazuki constantly talked about ending the Great Age of Pirates, he had been waiting patiently instead of provoking any of the Four Emperors.
Zefa, as an old Marine, also knew that this could destabilize the entire world.
"I advise you to leave immediately. I won't pursue the matter of those useless pirates you already killed," Bakkin said confidently, believing Nagasawa wouldn't dare act recklessly.
"Hahaha!"
Nagasawa burst into laughter.
He raised a finger and shook it.
"I, Fujiwara Nagasawa, like telling self-righteous people like you one thing—no!"
"You think a mere Kaido can scare me? I've heard Kaido has always wanted to kill himself, but his vitality is too great for him to succeed. He's simply unlucky. If he'd met me earlier, I'd have gladly fulfilled his wish."
Nagasawa displayed an arrogance far beyond anything Bakkin had expected.
"You..."
Before Bakkin could continue speaking, Nagasawa's punch blasted blood from her entire body, killing her instantly.
"You... damn it... Mother!"
Weevil glared furiously at Nagasawa while lying on the ground.
His entire body was covered in blood.
He shakily climbed back to his feet, picked up his massive blade, and prepared to avenge his mother.
Nagasawa shook his head.
Why did this make him look like the villain?
He had clearly come to eliminate evil and uphold justice.
"If you're that angry, then go accompany her."
As he spoke, Nagasawa infused his fist with Chakra enhanced by the Breathing Style, ensuring that a single punch would finish Weevil once and for all.
And just like that...
Weevil collapsed onto the pirate ship, dead.
Looking at Weevil's mangled corpse, Zefa experienced mixed emotions.
The villain who had murdered an entire ship of his students and haunted him with guilt-filled nightmares for years...
Was finally dead.
"Admiral Nagasawa, you acted a little impulsively. We should have captured them alive," Tashigi said.
Nagasawa laughed a few times.
He shook his hand, wiped his fist clean with a cloth, then placed his hand gently on Tashigi's head.
"Maybe always remaining rational is a good thing."
"But I think emotional impulses aren't entirely worthless."
"At least... they made me happy."
"Just consider it your superior being a little selfish once in a while, alright?"
Faced with Nagasawa suddenly speaking so seriously, the usually rational Tashigi found herself speechless.
She even forgot that Nagasawa's hand was resting on her head.
Objectively speaking, Nagasawa was the easiest superior Tashigi had ever worked with during her Marine career.
Today's battle had also shown her another side of him.
While Tashigi was still conflicted, Nagasawa quietly withdrew his hand.
Just moments ago...
He had successfully copied Tashigi's Devil Fruit.
Although the original story hadn't showcased the fruit particularly well, Nagasawa believed that a Devil Fruit's true potential depended on its user.
The String-String Fruit had countless applications in Doflamingo's hands.
In the hands of an ordinary person...
It might only be useful for sewing clothes.
"Thank you," Zefa said after remaining silent for a while.
He didn't understand why Nagasawa had insisted on killing Weevil.
Had he learned about Zefa's past somewhere?
Or did he simply dislike Weevil?
Either way...
Nagasawa had avenged him.
He had avenged every child who had died aboard that ship.
"There's no need for thanks, Senior Zefa. Eliminating pirates is the Marines' duty. If we're going to wear this Justice Coat, we have to accomplish something worthy of it," Nagasawa said with a smile.
"That's right. Eliminating pirates is indeed the Marines' responsibility. Because the Marines are the heroes of the sea," Zefa nodded in agreement.
"Calling them heroes of the sea is going a little too far. At their core, the Marines are simply the World Government's military organization," Nagasawa replied frankly.
Zefa fell silent.
He had always believed the Marines represented justice and heroism.
Yet he couldn't refute Nagasawa's words.
Because they were true.
The Marines might play the role of heroes in many situations...
But fundamentally, they remained the military force of the World Government.
Marine justice could never judge the World Government itself.
As a former Admiral, Zefa understood that all too well.
Although, because he had spent most of his career fighting pirates, he hadn't encountered those issues very often.
Zefa decided that after returning, he would have a long talk with Nagasawa and pass on some of his experience as a senior.
He thought very highly of Nagasawa.
He believed Nagasawa would become the leader of the Marines in the new era.
"Return to base!"
Nagasawa waved his hand grandly, and everyone boarded the warship once again.